Senior middle blocker Erin Redd-Brandon was named the Pac-12's Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Oct. 28, 2013

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Senior middle blocker Erin Redd-Brandon has been named the Pac-12 Conference Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. Not only is Redd-Brandon the first Ute volleyball player to ever earn a weekly award from the Pac-12, she is also the school's first two-time recipient.

Redd-Brandon led an impressive Utah block last weekend to help the Utes claim their first-ever Pac-12 weekend sweep with victories over Arizona State and No. 25 Arizona. She has led the Pac-12 in blocking for a majority of the season and averaged 2.00 blocks per set in the wins. She also hit .327 on the weekend and averaged 2.67 kills and 0.56 service aces per set.

"Erin has been putting up big blocking numbers all season," Utah Head Coach Beth Launiere said. "She was a big part of our success this weekend. She had 2.00 blocks per set, which was well above her Pac-12 leading 1.45 blocks per set. I'm happy that she is receiving this kind of recognition."

Sunday against No. 25 Arizona, Redd-Brandon dominated the net against the Wildcats by recording eight blocks. She also served a career-high four aces, including back-to-back aces that keyed a critical Ute run late in the third set, and hit .333 with nine kills.

Redd-Brandon secured her fourth double-double of the season (and the seventh of her career) with 15 kills and 10 blocks on Thursday in a five-set victory over Arizona State. Her 10 blocks against ASU was her fourth-double-digit-block effort this season and the seventh of her career. She posted a .333 hitting percentage on the attack with only five errors on a season-high 31 attempts against the Sun Devils.

She was also honored with the same award on Sept. 2 after being named to the Utah Classic All-Tournament Team and posting 2.46 kills and 1.69 blocks per set, while leading the Utes to a 3-0 mark.

This season, Redd-Brandon leads the Pac-12 with 1.45 blocks per set and is third in the conference-only stats with 1.38 per set. Also in league matches only, she is 10th in the conference with a .344 hitting percentage.

Redd-Brandon is fourth in school history with 519 career total blocks and her 491 career block assists also ranks fourth in school history. Her 1,026 career kills makes her the 14th member of Utah's 1,000-kill club.
The Utes head to No. 3 Washington next Friday with first serve from Alaska Airlines Arena set for 7 p.m. PT. Saturday's contest at Washington State will begin at 7 p.m. PT.